Thursday, September 5, 2013

Throwback Thursday {Pregnant in China}

So, what were you doing two years ago? I was passing the time in Beijing, China, waiting for my sweet little son to be born. He was due on August 26th. He was 15 days late.

For three and a half years, we lived in Qingdao, China, a city on the Eastern coast of China, smack in between Beijing and Shanghai. When I got pregnant, Bo and I made the decision that I would give birth in Beijing rather than Qingdao. This decision required me to travel to Beijing about a month before my due date, and wait for Marty's arrival (just in case he was early. Ha!).

Fortunately, our temporary apartment in BJ had a gigantic swimming pool, which I thoroughly enjoyed during those blazing hot August days. Nothing better than floating weightlessly when you are 10 days overdue! My dear friend and photographer extraordinaire, Kiley Ariail, stopped through BJ on her way back to QD from Europe. These photos of me in the pool are some of my favorite preggers pics. So tired...so ready to meet my boy...maybe jumping in the pool will force him out?!

My mom had come to China to hang out with me and be there for Marty's big arrival. We did a lot of touristy stuff while she was there, hoping that all the walking around would start my labor. Nope. He took his time. Perhaps he knew we had a few more memories to make in bustling Beijing...

This random man came up to me on the street, and insisted that his belly was bigger than mine. I'm thinking a big NO on that one. Close, though.

When you are 10 days overdue, you stop and stare at every child you see, wondering what it will be like when that little monkey is all yours.

At the Beijing Silk Market. This woman was literally pulling me into her booth and trying to convince me to buy something. She didn't let go of my wrist the entire time we were "bargaining." After I made my purchase, she politely informed me that I should not be out in public that far into pregnancy, as it is "bad for health." (And as a random side note: I grew like 4 cup sizes my first month of pregnancy. Yowza. I was glad to see those suckers go bye-bye when I stopped nursing!)

Mani-pedi-round-o-golf, anyone??

We took my mom to this huge fabric market where they sell everything from fabric to buttons to ribbon to trim. Anything a factory would need to create the clothing that we buy every day! A crafters dream, for certain. This was the real deal, no tourist trap, so everything was suuuuuuper cheap. I think we may have been the only foreigners walking around that place.

See that guy in the pink shirt? That is exactly what I wanted to be doing. Instead, I was hoofing it around Beijing, trying to evict my son from my belly!